Packers Lions: Three Reasons to Concern

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers face their biggest test of the season on Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions.

The Lions (6-1) have the best record in the NFC. They have won five straight and lead the NFL in scoring. They posted a 38-point win over the Titans in which their seven touchdowns came on a 70-yard touchdown, a 90-yard return and five passes of less than 30 yards.

Yes, Green Bay is better than Tennessee. But the Lions are much, much better than the Texans and Jaguars, whom the Packers beat on field goals in their last game.

Here are three reasons why the Packers will lose to the Lions.

1. Unstoppable lion attack

The Lions rank first in the NFL in points, third in passing per game, fifth in passing yards per game. They are seventh in third place and in the red zone. They have the fourth-most turnovers, with just one pass rush this season and no interceptions since Week 3.

Jared Goff is the most popular quarterback in the NFL. Running backs David Montgomery and Jameer Gibbs create thunder and lightning in the backfield. Amon-Ra St. Brown is an elite wide receiver, and Sam LaPorta is on track to become an elite tight end. And the offensive line, led by right tackle Pena Sewell and center Frank Ragnow, is as good as it gets.

Green Bay’s defense struggled last week in Jacksonville, but there were two important takeaways in the 30-27 win.

“I just think we’re getting better overall on defense,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “I think we’ll still be more consistent, but our guys are playing faster, they’re more physical, we’re getting the ball forward. They begin to understand the design and technique better. I think our midfield play was better. It will be great to have Quay (Walker) back.”

The big challenge will be Goff against a Packers secondary that will be without rookie cornerback Evan Williams (hamstring) and possibly without cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee; didn’t practice all week).

Goff on the heater. Over his last five games, Goff has completed 83.0 percent of his passes with a 146.5 passer rating, the best five-game mark for any quarterback in NFL history. During that span, the Lions have scored more touchdowns than Goff has thrown incompletions. Over the last four games, he has thrown 10 touchdowns and only 13 incompletions.

The team’s preferred secondary players – Alexander and Caseian Nixon at corners, Javon Bullard at position and Xavier McKinney and Williams at safety – played well. After Williams went out in the second quarter last week, the Packers were unable to handle the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence.

How are they going to deal with Goff and St. Brown if Alexander is inactive? Alexander had one catch in each of his last three games. The pressure will be on cornerbacks Eric Stokes, who has struggled, and Carrington Valentine, who has barely played, to fill the cornerback spots if the Packers line up that way.

Among players with 56 career games played, St. Brown ranks fourth in receptions. Since the start of the 2023 season, he is second in receiving yards and first downs and third in receiving yards. He’s caught a touchdown in five straight games.

“He’s so competitive,” Packers passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley said. “You can feel it on film. He has a strong, low build, so you have to really grab him and get on top of his body.”

2. Protecting lions in a big way

The Packers have been eating takeout all season.

Just like Leos.

Detroit is tied for second in takeaways (15) and interceptions (10). While Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney ranks first with six interceptions, Lions cornerbacks Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch rank second and third with five and four interceptions, respectively.

“Anytime you can put pressure on the quarterback, you’re creating throws that might be off the mark or just throws that are being made faster than normal,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Both of these guys have phenomenal ball skills. These guys make some pretty good plays that most defenders don’t make and also catch the ball in tight situations.

“Joseph does a really good job of reading the defender’s eyes and being in the right place at the right time. Yeah, they’re a good one-two punch there. They do a really good job.”

As a rookie in 2022, Joseph had three interceptions and five passes defensed against Aaron Rodgers in two games. Last year as a rookie, Branch had 15 tackles and two pass breakups against the Packers.

Of course, one of the biggest problems this season has been Jordan Love’s overly aggressive play. Even though he missed two and a half games, no quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Love’s nine games.

“Joseph and Branch are definitely great players,” Love said. “They have the talent to create such great games. We saw these guys. We feel them and you just have to always be good with the ball, be selective, have a great read. I know who these guys are, they are very good players, very talented, and it’s no surprise that they have great success there.”

Also of note: The Lions’ defense ranks first on third down (30.7 percent completions) and ninth in the red zone (47.4 percent of touchdown passes). Green Bay’s offense ranks 15th on third down (39.0 percent) and 25th in the red zone (50.0 percent). The Packers can’t afford to lose both of those areas.

3. Explosive Lions Special Squads

Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia took an unusual approach to his press conference Thursday. He brought out a piece of paper with notes in which he made sure to highlight every challenge posed by Detroit’s special teams.

It took him about 90 seconds to get through it.

“Obviously I start with a big task at home this week with the Lions coming in,” Bisaccia began. “It really starts with their head coach.”

Dan Campbell emphasizes special teams, and coordinator Dave Fipp has built an explosive team in his fourth season.

Last week against the Titans, Kalif Raymond had a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown, a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown, and a 44-yard punt return that was nullified by a penalty. Additionally, Khalil Dorsey returned the kickoff 72 yards.

“He’s hard to handle,” Bisaccia said of Raymond. “He has great speed. He plays fearlessly now. He plays with a lot of confidence and can certainly go the distance. On the other hand, Dorsey did a damn good job in the starting return game. He had two really big comebacks. He also has enough speed to go the distance.”

Punter Jack Fox ranks first with a 47.3 net yards average. Kicker Jake Bates, who became a popular post-UFL player, is 11 of 11 on field goals and 27 of 28 on extra points; Bisaccia didn’t think Bates missed the extra point.

With Fipp and Campbell, the Packers should be ready to fake at a moment’s notice; The Packers stopped one of them last year at Ford Field in a critical game.

The Packers have performed well this season, ranking seventh in punts and 14th in kickoffs. But they have yet to face special teams with the Lions’ all-around power, and rain could create a slick field that will benefit the returners.

“These guys are as good a team as we’ve ever played,” Fipp said of the Packers. “They are super talented, big, physical and strong.

“They played probably one of their best shots in the return at number 11 (Jayden Reed). We all know who 25th (Casian Nixon) is. These guys are really good in every way. For us, we have to go out there and expect the very, very best from them, and we have to play at our very, very best level once again.”

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